Spain police said found five snakes, two lizards

MADRID: Spanish police said Tuesday they found five snakes, two lizards and thousands of insects alive and hidden inside two suitcases that arrived on the holiday island of Gran Canaria on a flight from Madrid.

A man who had checked in the luggage in the Spanish capital was detained for questioning at the airport of Las Palmas, police said in a statement, without giving further details.

The luggage contained species often sold as exotic pets: a boa constrictor, a python molurus, found in Southeast Asia, and three python regius, a species found in Africa.

It also contained two leopard gecko lizards, a species naturally found in the deserts of Asia, two frogs and 200 dubia cockroaches which are normally found in Central and Southern America.